A chronicle of our life and work in Santa Cruz, Bolivia as missionaries with the Evangelical Free Church of Canada Mission (EFCCM)

Saturday, January 15, 2005

About our Ministry

We live in Santa Cruz, Bolivia where we work as missionaries with the EFCCM (Evangelical Free Church of Canada Mission), based near Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

We originally came to Santa Cruz in 2004 to work with World Concern, a Christian relief and development agency working in many places around the world. Our contract with World Concern was completed, but we still felt called to continue working in Santa Cruz, so in 2006 we began working the the EFCCM.

Danny, who has a PhD in applied development anthropology, works with local community groups and churches in projects focused on relieving poverty through water well drilling, food production and the creation of meaningful work. An integral part of every project is sharing our Christian faith.

While poverty alleviation, material progress, and social justice are central to our purpose, we believe the best way to achieve material transformation is through spiritual transformation. The most important element of any person’s life is his or her relationship with God. If this is on the right track, everything else in life tends to fall into perspective.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39

Vanessa, apart from managing our household, is involved in a variety of ministries outside the home. She volunteers in several orphanages in Santa Cruz where she ministers to children and teenagers through a puppet, clown, and birthday ministry. The largest portion of her time is dedicated to our three beautiful children, Nathaniel (15), Luciana (12), and Isaiah (5).

“So how can we help?” you may be asking yourself at this point. We are glad you asked. First, we need your prayer support. We know that with a strong prayer team behind us, God will use us in this ministry to reach many people for Him. Secondly, we are seeking ministry partners who can support us financially.

The EFCCM provides the structure of a church family, prayer, and spiritual and financial accountability, but they ask that we raise our own financial support to pay for living expenses, travel, ministry expenses, etc. Please pray for our ministry and prayerfully consider your financial investment in this ministry.

We need to raise approximately $5,000 a month to cover our living and ministry expenses. We currently receive about $3000 a month in support, so there is plenty of room for additional partners. Approximately 7% of what we receive is used for EFCCM administrative costs, 93% is used in Bolivia. If you would like to designate your gift for a specific project, please include a special note stating such when you make a contribution. If you know of anyone else (a church or individual) who might be interested in this ministry, please share with them what we are doing and have them contact us.

You can contribute in several different ways:

Because the EFCCM is not an U.S. organization, contributions made directly to them by U.S. residents are not tax deductible. However, we have arranged for donors to receive a tax receipt through one of our partner churches. You may send donations to the Owingsville Baptist Church and they in turn will forward the gift to the EFCCM and will mail you a tax receipt. The mailing address is:

Owingsville Baptist ChurchPO BOX 662Owingsville, KY 40360

Be sure to designate that is it is for the ministry of Danny and Vanessa Beams in Bolivia.

You can also use Paypal to make an electronic contribution through Owingsville Baptist. Simply click on the Donate Icon on our home page and follow the instructions. Be sure to include your name and address in order to receive a tax receipt.

If a tax receipt is not a concern, you may make contributions directly through the EFCCM.